Joyeux Noël
by chassecroise
Summary: It's Christmastime in Paris and everyone in the city has someone special to spend it with, except Adrien, who's used to spending it alone with his father's secretary and his bodyguard. He expects this year will be the same until Marinette invites him to come ice skating with her and Alya on the last day of school and it begins to seem like Christmas won't be so lonely after all.
1. The Wish

Marinette and Alya grinned at each other as they ran out the school door, the final bell still ringing. They stood at the top of the steps, watching the gently falling snow cover the streets of Paris. The Christmas holiday had finally started and they had two weeks of freedom, fun, and free time.

Well, Alya would, at least. As far as Marinette knew, akumas weren't in the habit of taking holidays, so there was no knowing when Ladybug would need to save the city again. Given that the Christmas holidays were an emotional time for everyone, Marinette was certain that Ladybug would need to make at least one appearance before the holidays ended.

"Let's go skating at the Hotel de Ville!" said Alya, smiling and waving her arms around the slowly falling snowflakes.

"That's a great idea!" said Marinette. She crossed her arms and shivered. "Can we stop by the bakery first though? I forgot to bring my hat and gloves today."

Alya saw Adrien standing with Nino at the bottom of the steps, waiting for his limousine to show up and take him home. He was, she noticed, wearing the scarf that Marinette had made him for his birthday, and was twiddling his fingers around the soft fringes, gently clutching the ends.

She turned to her friend and tapped her shoulder. "Want to invite your prince to come with us?"

"Oh, he can't! He's been doing photoshoots for Burberry every Friday for the past three weeks," said Marinette automatically.

Alya laughed. "I forgot that you have his schedule memorized."

Marinette turned bright red and smiled sheepishly. "I've been trying to figure out the best time would be for me to drop off his Christmas present at his house. Which would be when he's actually at home. You'd be surprised how often he's out of the house. But I've finally figured out that the best time is today, around sunset. That's usually when he returns from his photoshoots, except when he has something unexpected come up, which has been happening more often than usual, actually. I wonder why. Maybe I should add a space to my schedule map—"

Alya raised her eyebrow. "That's fine, but did you—"

Marinette interrupted her with a laugh. "Don't worry! I actually remembered to sign my gift this time. Tikki—I mean, my planner, had a reminder in there. I made him a blue hat to match with his scarf. And I made sure there are no feathers!"

Alya smiled. "I'm sure he'll love it. But are you sure you don't want to invite Adrien to come skating with us? It's probably the last time we're going to see him until January. This might be your best chance to finally get to know him!"

Marinette looked around for the omnipresent blonde ponytail that usually made "getting to know him" difficult, if not impossible.

Alya laughed. "Don't worry, Chloe already left. She's going to Switzerland to some chateau her father bought out for Christmas. I heard her telling Sabrina that she had to leave class early because of her flight and to make sure she did all of her physics homework."

Marinette bit her lip and turned to look at Adrien, who was now standing alone. "Okay. I'm going to do it. Maybe he can cancel his modeling appointment. I hope his father doesn't get angry."

"Forget about Monsieur Agreste. Focus on his son—now go!" said Alya, pushing her down the steps.

Adrien sighed as he said bye to Nino. The wind was getting colder and he was not looking forward to two weeks at home, sitting alone for hours in his room and at the dinner table, punctuated only by the occasional interruption from Natalie with a message from his father, meetings with tutors, lessons, and photoshoots. Anticipating the boredom, he had even come up with a list of holiday related puns to try out on the Gorilla. His goal for the two weeks was to get his stoic bodyguard to crack at least one smile.

He overheard the others in his class talking about their plans for break—Chloe, going to Switzerland with her parents, Sabrina, visiting the police station with her father on Christmas Eve to sing carols, Alya, helping her mother out with the annual Christmas feast at the hotel, Juleka, doing...something. He hadn't quite been able to figure it out, but it involved an underground punk concert near Père Lachaise.

And of course there was Marinette, who was busy with the bakery and all the holiday orders. Over the past few weeks, she had come into class smelling of sugar and caramel, often carrying a small bag filled with goodies she would distribute in class. One day, Alya had even called her a Christmas elf and Adrien had noticed Nathanael surreptitiously sketching something that looked suspiciously like Marinette wearing an elf hat with a tassel that looked like a Christmas cookie.

It seemed that even she was excited and happy for Christmas, even though she always seemed tongue-tied whenever Adrien tried to talk to her. At first he thought it was because she was shy, but after becoming the class president, it had become obvious to him that shy was the last thing that Marinette was.

He had thought then that it might be because she had a bit of a crush on him because of his high profile modeling career (he didn't want to be vain, but there were many girls at school who acted just like her whenever he had a new ad come out, which was flattering but mostly annoying, especially considering how Chloe treated them afterward). He wished Marinette would relax a little—she seemed like a fun girl when she was around her other friends. Sometimes, when he saw her at student council meetings after school, the way she lead the meetings even reminded him a little bit of Ladybug—confident and outgoing.

Ladybug. He hoped that he would see his crime-fighting partner at least once over the holidays, even though he knew that would mean that her own family celebrations would be interrupted. He wondered if Ladybug had a family that cared about her, or if she too, spent her days being someone that people admired but rarely spoke to. Was she an only child, or did she have siblings? She always seemed so reluctant to share anything about her civilian life, preferring to stick to flirty banter and no-nonsense commands, which was fun, but which also meant that she remained as much of a mystery as she had been when they first met.

Of course, he was pretty reluctant to share any details about his family life himself. He wanted to know more about her, but he doubted that she would even be interested in hearing about how quiet it always was at home, how he was never allowed to invite any friends over, and how he received fan letters from girls all over France, but only two Christmas cards from any real friends—one from Nino, and one from Rose, who gave a card to everyone in the class each year.

Adrien imagined sitting with Ladybug on top of a snowy rooftop on Christmas Eve at midnight, watching the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower. It was a lovely dream, but he knew it would never happen.

Everyone in his class was excited and happy to see their family over Christmas and he was happy for them too, but he wished he had someone to share the holiday with—and so he hoped, at least, that he would see Ladybug once before the holidays ended. That was his Christmas wish.

Suddenly, Adrien felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see Marinette, her eyes wide and cheeks red, but standing with conviction.

"Hi, Adrien. Would you—would you like to come ice skating with Alya and me?"

"Yes," he found himself saying before he could even think about it.

"We're stopping by the bakery to pick up Marinette's hat and gloves first," added Alya, who had joined them. She saw that Adrien's ears were turning red from the cold and nudged Marinette, who quickly noticed.

"Oh—and since you're not wearing a hat either, you can borrow one of my father's caps if you'd like! It's getting pretty cold out here, and it'll be even colder at the rink."

"That would be really nice," said Adrien. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course!" said Marinette. "What are friends for?" added Alya.

Adrien smiled. He had wished that he could spend Christmas with someone special, and even though Marinette and Alya weren't exactly who he had been imagining, ice skating with friends was going to be a great way to start his holiday. Maybe the next two weeks wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. The Bakery

The bakery was buzzing with people as Marinette, Alya, and Adrien walked through the door.

"Bonjour, Marinette!" called Sabine as she waved at the three friends from the register. "How was your final day at school?"

"Salut, Maman!" said Marinette. "It was a nice day, but I'm happy that the holidays have finally started."

"So am I. We've had more orders than usual and your father and I need your help to keep up!" said Sabine.

"I've invited Alya and Adrien to come ice skating with me at the Hotel de Ville," said Marinette. "We've just come home to pick up my hat and gloves—and one of Papa's hats for Adrien, since he doesn't have one with him. I'll be back in a few hours—but I'll come back earlier if you need me!"

As Marinette ran up the stairs to retrieve the hats, Sabine smiled at Alya and looked curiously at Adrien, who she recognized from the posters and photographs in her daughter's room. He was a handsome boy in person, with clever green eyes and a kind smile that had a tinge of hidden sadness which wasn't visible in the glossy professional photographs.

Sabine wondered if the boy knew about her daughter's infatuation with him. But judging from Adrien's relaxed composure and the way he was curiously looking around the bakery, it seemed unlikely. She smiled and shook her head. She was sure they would figure everything out eventually. In the end, young love was never as complicated as it seemed at the time.

Adrien's mouth had started watering at the tantalizing scent of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla wafting through the air, amidst the brightly colored decorations hanging throughout the bakery. The whole shop was a veritable Christmas wonderland, and he didn't know where to look first.

He walked over to the small crèche displayed in one of the windows and admired the delicately rendered figurines surrounding the nativity scene. He noticed with amusement that there were three boulangers among the other villagers. One was tall and wore a long white apron, and the other two were more petite, wearing dresses and holding a tray of macarons. As he looked closer, he realized that they were a representation of Marinette's family. He marveled at the detail in the figurines and wondered if she had designed their outfits. He wouldn't be surprised if she had.

Alya smiled at the wonder in his eyes. "Is this your first time here?" she asked.

"Yes. But it won't be my last!" he said, flashing a bright cat-like grin.

"I'm sure Marinette will be happy to hear that," said Alya, chortling.

"It's because I'm irresistible, right?" he said, striking a ridiculous pose with his arms in the air, reminiscent of a Greek statue.

Alya laughed. "Who knew the great Adrien Agreste had such a terrible sense of humor?"

"Girls usually love stuff like this," he said, dropping his arms sheepishly.

"Well, I'm the wrong girl," said Alya, rolling her eyes with a grin. "I think you'll find a better audience in Marinette. Try it on her when she gets back down here."

"Try what on me?" said Marinette, bounding down the stairs carrying a pair of bright red mittens with a matching hat in one hand and a wooly sea green cap in the other, which she had specifically chosen from her father's pile of winter caps because it would match Adrien's eyes.

Adrien turned to her and struck his model pose again. "Do _you_ think I'm irresistible?" he asked, cocking his head and smiling at her.

Marinette stopped dead in the middle of the stairs and watched him in silence for a few seconds before bursting out into delighted laughter. She never could have imagined that gentle Adrien could ever have anything in common with her goofy crime-fighting partner, but in that moment, they could have been twins. His expression was exactly like Chat Noir's when he was fishing for compliments—all that was missing were the ears.

It put her at ease with him in a way that she had never expected to be. Which was good, because they were about to spend the next two hours skating together, and she knew that there was only so many times Alya could help her from walking into awkward conversation gaffes brought on by nervousness.

"You'll only be irresistible once you put on this hat!" she called out, eyes sparkling. "There's nothing attractive about ears that are as red as lobsters from the cold." She tossed the hat to him with a wink.

Adrien smirked and caught the hat with cat-like reflexes before placing it on his head and posing again with one fluid motion. "How about now?"

Marinette laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "Save the posing for the ice rink, silly kitty—I mean—Adrien."

Adrien dropped the pose and blinked at her, unsure if he had actually heard her say "silly kitty" or if he had just imagined it. Did Marinette know his secret? Or was Ladybug just on his mind?

Marinette spotted Alya looking at her with surprise and shrugged. She knew that her friend would pepper her with questions as soon as Adrien left. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain to her friend that the reason she had stopped feeling nervous around him was because he was reminding her of Chat Noir and that her primary form of communication with him was through flirty banter.

Of course, she wasn't about to call Adrien her "petit minou" anytime soon, but she was going to have to think of a way to explain to Alya why she could suddenly speak with ease to a boy she couldn't even look straight in the eye for the better part of a year. But she could figure out how to do that later.

"So, shall we head to the rink then?" she said, walking toward the entrance and avoiding direct eye contact with Alya.

"Sure," said Adrien, pushing the thought of Ladybug from his mind. He opened the door and waved the girls through. "Ladies first. By the way, Marinette—thanks for the hat. It's a lot chillier out here than I thought it would be today."

"It actually looks pretty good on you. Have you ever considered modeling? I think you'd be pretty good at it," said Marinette, sticking out her tongue.

Adrien was used to being on the receiving end of sycophantic compliments on his physical appearance from hundreds of fangirls, but he had never blushed at any of them. Only now, when the compliment was clearly a gently sarcastic joke, did he feel himself turning red. It was weird…but also kind of nice.

As they walked toward the Hotel de Ville, they continued to talk, and Adrien was surprised to see how easy it was to have a conversation with Marinette. He could see why everyone in their class had voted her as class president—even though their own conversation was casual and lighthearted, he could see that she was paying attention to everything he was saying.

It was a completely new sensation for Adrien, who was used to having conversations where people were just waiting for him to stop talking so they could start again instead of actually listening to what he had to say.

He had misjudged Marinette. She obviously wasn't like the other girls in their school who fell all over themselves whenever one of his new ads came out. But why had she always been so nervous to talk to him?

As Marinette began animatedly describing the process of designing the bowler hat she had made for his father's design competition and apologizing for adding feathers, it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps it was because of his father. Everyone at school knew that Marinette wanted to become a famous fashion designer, so it was obvious that she would be nervous around the son of the most renowned stylist in Paris. Maybe she had been afraid he would judge her. It still didn't explain why she had suddenly stopped acting so timid, but he wasn't about to question it—perhaps all of this was just part of his Christmas wish coming true, and Marinette would go back to being highstrung and jittery around him as soon as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve.

Marinette herself couldn't quite believe what was happening. She felt like she was in a fever dream—talking freely with the love of her life, who didn't seem upset at all about missing out on what she was sure were very important appointments, Chloe was nowhere to be seen—and not only that, she was about to go ice skating with him. Quelle romantique! She almost wanted to ask Tikki to pinch her and prove that it was real.

Alya walked behind them, bursting with curiosity. Ever since Marinette had been voted class president, she had truly become a leader in the class, taking charge of projects and making sure to listen to everyone's concerns. But all of that had seemed to have no effect on her nervousness when it came to Adrien, who she still couldn't speak to without stammering or tripping over her words. And now, suddenly, not only could she speak freely with him, she was flirting! It was either a Christmas miracle or a huge act that would collapse as soon as he left, and she intended to find out what it was.


	3. The Invitation

The wind picked up even more as the three friends walked toward L'Hôtel de Ville, and despite the warm coats and gloves they were all wearing, they were beginning to feel like popsicles—particularly Marinette, whose nose had turned bright red from the cold.

Adrien teased her about it until he spotted a roasted chestnut vendor standing near the entrance to the rink. "Do you ladies like roasted chestnuts?"

"I love them!" said Marinette, hopping with excitement as Alya rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Wait here and I'll go buy some," he said.

"You don't have to do that!" cried Marinette. "I invited you, I should be the one—"

Adrien shook his head and smiled as he reached into his coat pocket for his wallet. "My treat."

"Thank you," said Marinette, who felt herself melting into a bit of a puddle again. Here, once again, was the princely Adrien she knew and adored.

"It's _nut_ a big deal," he said, grinning at their groans as he walked over to the vendor.

Marinette should have known better than to let herself fall for the charm.

Adrien was a beautiful, kind boy, but he had the most amusing and dorky personality that she never would have guessed he had. She couldn't imagine that Chloe had ever seen this side of him, or she would never speak to him.

But then again, who knew with Chloe? She had her own reasons for everything. After all, Sabrina was her best friend.

Marinette was sure that he and Chat Noir would get along very well. She wondered if there was any way they could ever meet. At the same time, she wasn't sure she actually wanted that to happen. If they met, they would probably make more bad puns than conversation, and nobody in their right mind would want that to happen.

Alya poked Marinette in the rib with her elbow. "Hey, what gives? When did you become Little Miss Confident?"

"Oh, um, it's a Christmas miracle!" said Marinette with a toothy grin.

"Mmhmm," said Alya. "And you expect me to believe that?"

Marinette dropped the grin and looked over to see make sure that Adrien was still talking to the chestnut vendor.

"I don't know how to explain it, but back at the bakery—the silly way he was acting—it made me feel less nervous around him. Like I could be myself around him."

"So it's not an act? You're not going to start freaking out about how hard it was to act casual once he goes home?"

Marinette laughed. "I can't promise that I won't freak out, but I can promise that I'm not pretending to be calm around him. I just—don't feel nervous anymore."

"Okay, girl, if you're sure," said Alya. "You know I'm with you all the way."

Adrien returned with three piping hot cones of roasted chestnuts, which warmed them up nicely as they headed inside. The queue at the Patinoire de L'Hôtel de Ville was as long as expected after the final day of classes across Paris. Children and teenagers of all ages were lined up at the entrance, swinging their ice skates over their shoulders as they waited to enter the square, and by the time the three friends reached the counter to rent their skates, the sun had already set and the streetlights had begun to turn on.

"What's your favorite ice rink in the city?" asked Marinette as she laced up her skates. "I've come here with Maman and Papa on the first weekend it opens for as long as I can remember."

"I love this place too," said Alya. "I can't imagine winter holidays without it."

Adrien was about to shake his head and say that he didn't have one, when he suddenly remembered a distant childhood memory—skating with his mother at the Champs-Elysées Christmas market, bundled up in a coat and scarf far too big for his tiny frame, wobbling across the ice and gripping his mother's hand tightly.

"The rink at the Champs-Elysées Christmas Village," he said. "But I haven't been there in a long time."

Marinette was about to ask why when she noticed the sadness in Adrien's eyes, and figured it would be better not to pry. She decided to try and cheer him up instead.

"Well then, we should go! We have two whole weeks before we have to go back to school. Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve? I'm sure my parents would let me take a break for a few hours. I have to help them make a delivery in that direction anyway."

She knew full well what his schedule was and that he had far too many engagements to spend time with his classmates, but since he was here now, she figured it was worth a try.

Alya, who was standing behind Adrien, gave Marinette a thumbs up and cheered silently, waving her arms in the air. She was loving this new confidence. She still wasn't sure that she bought Marinette's excuse, but she was happy that her friend was finally able to speak to her longtime crush without tripping over her words.

"That sounds like a lot of fun, Marinette. I'll let you know if I'm free," said Adrien, sounding unexpectedly serious.

Marinette was taken aback by his sudden formality, but nodded and smiled anyway. "I hope you can!"

In fact, Adrien had wanted to say yes right away, but he wasn't sure if he could. He already knew that his father would be furious about the fact that he had skipped his photoshoot today without any notice beyond a quick text to Natalie, telling her that he had been held up by an extra fencing practice session for a competition to be held in January (he was sure that she would have called the school by now and found out that there was no such thing, which meant that his phone would soon start lighting up with angry messages).

Given that they were now out of school for two weeks, he wasn't sure what other excuses he could come up with, since he was already using most of the ones he had come up with to explain his absences as Chat Noir.

So he didn't want to make any promises he wasn't sure he could keep. But judging from Marinette's slightly dejected expression, he thought that perhaps he should just say yes anyway, and figure out the rest later. After all, he had wished to have someone to spend the holidays with, and now that it was finally happening, there was no reason for him to turn the opportunity down.

"You know what? Let's do it," he said. "I haven't been there in years. I'd love to go."

"Yay! And we can even buy Christmas presents for everyone," said Marinette, turning slightly pink for some reason.

"That sounds perfect," said Adrien with a smile.

They glided out onto the ice and stopped for a moment to marvel at the view. The luminous golden light streaming out of the Hôtel illuminated the entire building and formed a magnificent backdrop to the ice, which had been lit up in alternating shades of pink and red and glowed brightly against the quickly darkening sky. Adrien was reminded of Ladybug, and wondered how she was spending the evening. He hoped she was with her friends as well.

Even though it had been a long time since he had been on the ice, Adrien immediately remembered what it was like, and began rapidly and confidently circling around the rink. With the black ice skates on, he felt a little bit like Chat Noir, especially the need to show off. Alya and Marinette watched with amusement and fascination from the side of the rink as he began adding graceful, feline jumps and complicated spins to his routine, which quickly drew a small crowd.

"So he's an amazing ice skater too, huh?" said Alya. "It figures. I'm sure his father put him in lessons for that when he was young as well."

Marinette murmured in agreement, but she wasn't really listening. Once again, Adrien was reminding her of her _petit minou_ —but this time, it wasn't the way he was talking. It was in the graceful way he was moving about the ice, so reminiscent of the way Chat Noir moved across the tops of buildings.

Marinette was not used to standing still while her partner moved around, and she _needed_ to match her movements to his. She glided over to him and curtsied, eyes twinkling. Adrien met her gaze with a smirk and a bow, and soon they were skating in sync, matching movement to movement, knowing exactly what the other wanted to do. They spun and twirled around the rink until they were breathless, and when they stopped, Adrien bowed Marinette into a spectacular dip and the crowd burst into applause.

"Where on earth did you learn to skate like that, girl?" said Alya, cheering louder than everyone else. "That was amazing!"

"I don't know!" said Marinette. "But it was a lot of fun."

"You're amazing, do you know that?" replied Alya as her phone buzzed. "Hold on—it's my mother. I need to take this."

As Alya skated back over to the side of the rink, Adrien and Marinette smiled at each other, cheeks red and breathing heavy. Something magical had just happened—neither was quite sure what—but it was wonderful.

Alya talked to her mother for several minutes before returning. "I'm sorry, you two, but I have to go to the hotel and help my mother. Her assistant was supposed to return from Germany today but there was a flight delay, so she won't be back till tomorrow and my mother needs help now."

"Don't worry about it," said Marinette. "I should probably get going myself—my parents are expecting me to be back home soon. We were standing in the queue much longer than I thought we would."

"Okay—see you soon then! I'll text you," said Alya as she waved goodbye. "Thanks for joining us, Adrien. See you in January!" she added as she left the rink.

Marinette turned to look at Adrien as they slowly skated toward the entrance to the rink. "Did you have a good time?"

"I had a great time. But all good things come to an end," said Adrien, flashing a half-hearted grin at her. "And now I get to go home and hang out with Natalie and Gorilla, which should be fun."

"Who's Gorilla?"

"He's my bodyguard. I've never seen him smile even once."

Adrien lapsed into silence as they walked back to the counter to return their skates and retrieve their shoes.

Marinette quietly watched him sit on the bench and start to lace up his shoes before tapping his shoulder.

"You know…it doesn't have to end right away."

Adrien looked at her with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean—you heard my mother earlier, right? It's really busy at the bakery right now, and Maman and Papa are feeling pretty overwhelmed. Would you like to come back with me and help us out? You can even take some of the extra cookies and pastries home at the end of the shift if you'd like—"

Once again, Adrien found himself accepting her offer without even thinking about his schedule or any of his responsibilities.

And even though he knew he was going to get into a lot of trouble later, Marinette's bright smile when he said "Yes," somehow made it all worth it.


	4. The Macarons

By the time Marinette and Adrien returned to the bakery, the crowd was much smaller than before, but Sabine and Tom were just as busy as before.

"Thank goodness you're back, Marinette! I was just about to call you and ask when you were coming home," said Sabine before she noticed her daughter's companion. "Oh, hello there—Adrien, right?"

"Bonsoir, Madame Cheng," said Adrien, smiling politely. "And yes, it's Adrien. Marinette said you and Monsieur Dupain could use some extra help at the bakery tonight."

"Yes, Maman," piped in Marinette. "Adrien didn't want to go back home right away after we left the rink, so I asked him if he would be interested in helping us out tonight and he thought it was a great idea."

"Well, we certainly could use an extra pair of hands," said Tom. "Thank you for stepping in, young man."

"It's my pleasure!" said Adrien. "But I do have to admit that I also came because Marinette said she would let me have some of the leftover Christmas cookies at the end of the shift," he added with a grin.

Sabine and Tom laughed merrily. "I would expect nothing less from a boy of your age," said Sabine.

"I was the same way," added Tom. "Actually, Sabine won her way to my heart with her special pastries."

"Really, Papa? You never told me that!" said Marinette. "What kind of pastries did Maman make?"

"The most delicious Palmiers on the planet," said Tom. "But I can tell you the whole story while we're working. Come on, kids—let's head to the kitchen. We have to make six dozen more cookies before we close tonight."

As they walked to the back of the bakery where the kitchen was, Adrien motioned to Marinette to come over to him before they walked in the door.

"What's up?" she said, nonplussed.

"I…I don't know how to cook," he whispered.

Marinette muffled a giggle behind her hand and shook her head as she lead him into the kitchen. "Don't worry! Papa would never let anyone else manage the actual baking, especially when we're on such a tight schedule. He can't afford any mistakes. You and I are just going to be his helping hands."

Adrien still looked mildly terrified.

"You have been in a kitchen before, right?" said Marinette. "What did you think we were going to do to help out?"

"I guess I thought I'd be doing something more along the lines of packing boxes or helping customers out," said Adrien, looking bashful.

Marinette laughed. "You are good in front of people."

"It is one of my more _pawsitive_ traits," he said, grinning until he realized Marinette was staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Are you a fan of Chat Noir?" she asked.

Adrien turned red. "Why do you ask?"

"He's the only other person in Paris who makes such terrible cat puns," she said.

Adrien relaxed. "That's because he's got a good sense of humor."

"Only a true Chat Noir fanboy would say that."

"Chat Noir is super cool. Your _catitude_ is _apawling._ "

"Aargh! Nooooo!"

Tom smiled at their banter and shook his head. He remembered when he and Sabine had joked around like that as young lovers, though between them, Sabine had the better sense of humor. Not that he would ever admit it to her out loud.

"Sorry to interrupt, Adrien, but can you please hand me the box with the nutmeg and cinnamon?"

"Season's Greetings," said Adrien as he passed him the bowl with a smirk.

"Terrible!" said Marinette, pretending to gag.

"Give the boy a break, Marinette," said Tom. "At least his jokes are better than your mother's!" he added as Sabine walked into the kitchen.

"No way! Maman's puns are much better than Adrien's," said Marinette.

"I take that as a challenge," said Adrien.

"Challenge accepted," replied Sabine, grinning. "But only after the bakery closes. Get to work, you two. No more distractions!"

"Yes ma'am!" said Adrien and Marinette in unison.

Over the next hour, they didn't have much time to talk, as Tom kept them running in various directions (for which Marinette was thankful, as she could see puns forming in Adrien's head at the speed of light, though he kept them in his head)

However, it didn't take much time for either Tom or Marinette to figure out that Adrien truly had no idea how to handle pretty much anything in the kitchen.

 _Minou stupide,_ thought Marinette fondly with a sigh as Adrien accidentally dropped his fifth egg on the floor instead of cracking it, before she realized again that she was with her crush and not Chat Noir.

She really had to snap out of it. She still hadn't quite processed the glorious Christmas miracle of not only having her crush to herself and getting to know him for nearly an entire day, but also getting to spend time with him at the bakery. Was this real life?

It had to be. Even though Adrien's true personality seemed to have little to do with the serene, quiet boy she had idolized for the better part of a year. But this was good. Marinette was finally getting to know him beyond her daydreams and assumptions. Like her expectation that Adrien would be as good at baking as he was at everything else he did at school. It was refreshing to know that he in fact wasn't perfect. In some ways, it made him even more endearing—and therefore, attractive.

Even though he still had the most terrible sense of humor.

Eventually, Tom relegated him to icing duty on the Christmas macarons, at which he was surprisingly proficient.

"How's it going over there, buddy?" asked Tom, after Adrien had been silent for nearly twenty minutes.

Adrien looked up from the counter, with a focused expression and sweat on his furrowed brow. "I hope you like black and red flowers."

"On Christmas macarons? That's certainly a unique color combination. I would have chosen red and green, but your choice actually works quite well. Any reason why you chose those colors?"

"I, uh…just really like black and red," said Adrien, blushing.

Marinette walked over to where he was standing and observed his handiwork. "Wow, Adrien, these are really nice!"

Adrien beamed at her. "You really think so?"

Tom walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It looks great, son."

Adrien felt overcome by emotion. He hadn't experienced this kind of family warmth in a long time—not since his mother had gone, and to receive it from the family of a girl he barely knew, though he had gotten to know her quite well over the past day, was both wonderful and overwhelming, and he could feel himself start to tear up.

Sabine and Tom looked at each other and subtly nodded.

"Well, I think it's time for that pun competition!" said Sabine, brightly.

Adrien smiled at her. "May the best pun win."

Marinette and Tom watched Adrien and Sabine go back and forth for half an hour before declaring a draw and collapsing into laughter.

"That was a lot of fun!" said Marinette. "Maman, I think you've met your match."

"Perhaps, but what if it's _you_ who's met your match?" said Sabine, eyes twinkling. Marinette and Adrien both blushed pink as Tom and Sabine laughed, when Adrien's phone started beeping nonstop.

He immediately stopped smiling as he pulled it out of his bag. "That must be Natalie. She's probably worried because I was supposed to be home several hours ago."

Marinette looked at him, concerned. "Do you want us to drop you off home?"

Adrien shook his head. "No, it's fine, I can get home by myself."

"Are you sure? It's getting late," said Sabine.

Adrien smiled and walked toward the door. "Don't worry—I know my way home. Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, Monsieur Dupain and Madame Cheng. I can see why Marinette is such a nice girl."

"It was lovely to meet you too," said Sabine. "Feel free to come by and visit anytime, son," added Tom.

Adrien turned to Marinette. "So I'll see you on Christmas Eve, then, like we planned?"

Marinette smiled. "Yes! By the way—you forgot your cookies. I added two of your macarons to the bag." She handed the still warm bag to him and their fingers momentarily touched. She could feel herself turning slightly pink, and she hoped he didn't notice.

"Thanks, Marinette. See you soon," said Adrien, walking out of the shop with a wave and jumping around the corner.

He shook his bag. "Plagg, wake up. I've got to get home quick, and the best way to do it is if I transform."

Plagg yawned and opened one eye. "Hmmph. I don't know about that. All that time in a bakery and you didn't even feed me a crumb? I don't know if I feel like helping you transform right now."

"I've got three cheese tarts for you in my backpack right now."

"Well, why didn't you say so? What are we waiting for?"

"Thank you. _Transforme moi_!"

Chat Noir vaulted across the buildings of Paris and leaped into his room, de-transforming as quickly as possible before Natalie could get there. When she walked inside, he looked as composed as could be, as if he had been there for hours, and told her with a straight face that he had returned right after school. Natalie blinked in surprise for several seconds before walking back down the stairs and wondering if she was going crazy or if Adrien had simply become a very proficient liar. Either way, she needed a drink.

Upstairs in her room, Marinette screamed into her pillow as Tikki floated beside her, concerned.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

She lifted her head from the pillow and turned to look at the kwami with a manic look of glee. "Tikki! Today I spent an entire day with Adrien. Adrien Agreste! An entire day!"

"I'm so proud of you, Marinette! I knew you could do it."

"But you know what's funny, Tikki? The reason I felt so comfortable around him was because he reminded me of Chat. Isn't that strange?"

"Well, I've seen stranger things in my lifetime!"

Marinette laughed. "And that's about what, 6000 years, right? Tell me about them!"

Tikki smiled and began to tell her stories until she fell asleep. She had been paying attention all day and she had a few theories as to what was going on, but she would let Marinette figure it out on her own. After all, that was her destiny—and Tikki's was to stand by her side while she figured it all out.

But for now, it was nearly Christmas, and it was time to sit back and enjoy the ride. She was especially looking forward to Christmas Eve.


	5. The Question

On Christmas Eve, right as twilight fell, Marinette waited nervously at the entrance of the bakery for Adrien to show up, pacing from side to side as she watched the people passing by. They had made plans to walk to the Village de Noël des Champs Élysées together, and Adrien said he was bringing a surprise along with him.

Marinette, too, had her own surprise for him. She had decided that instead of dropping off Adrien's present at his house, she was going to hand it directly to him. She had come up with the idea just that morning, dancing around her room and reminiscing while Tikki watched her with a smile. She couldn't wait to give him the hat and see him put it on. This time, he would know it was from her, because this time, she wouldn't be hiding behind a pillar or going through his secretary.

In the five days that had passed since they had gone ice skating together and he had come to help at the bakery, she had woken up every morning replaying moments from the day over and over again in her head. She had texted Alya a few times about it, but mostly, she talked to Tikki for hours about what had happened, because it still didn't quite seem real.

"It is, Marinette!" Tikki said each time. "You're both friends now, and that's wonderful! He deserves to know what a nice person you are. I'm so proud of you for getting over your fear of talking to him!"

She felt utterly giddy when she thought about how well her parents had gotten along with him and how happy he looked to spend time with them. Nobody at school knew much about Adrien's family, but they all knew that he lived alone with his father and of course Nino had already made sure that they all knew what an unfriendly man Monsieur Agreste was, even though he was one of Paris's top stylists.

Marinette figured that Adrien's reluctance to go home that day and the faraway look in his eyes when he had mentioned that the ice rink at the Village de Noël had something to do with it—so in retrospect, inviting Adrien to come help at the bakery was the best thing she could have done.

She closed her eyes and raised her arms up in the air and let out a loud sigh of contentment just as Adrien walked up, carrying a large bag in his arms.

"Bonsoir, Mademoiselle Marinette," he said, eyes twinkling as she opened her eyes and turned red upon seeing him. "How are you this evening?"

"Salut Adrien!" she said. "What's that you're carrying?"

He grinned and handed it to her. "It's a Christmas present for you. I'm _pawsitive_ you'll like it."

Marinette couldn't believe her ears. Adrien Agreste was giving, her, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a Christmas present! (Though she still rolled her eyes at the pun)

She had never expected to make this kind of progress with him—though she still wasn't quite sure if he saw her as anything more than a friend, it didn't matter. She could genuinely say that they were friends now, and it was a wonderful feeling.

She moved the delicate, sparkly tissue paper (who would have guessed that Adrien would be so good at wrapping presents?) and uncovered a pair of beautiful white ice skates covered in a detailed snowflake pattern.

"These are lovely, Adrien! Thank you so much!"

Adrien beamed at her. "I'm so glad you like them! Alya helped me pick them out."

"She did?" said Marinette, eyes wide. "I can't believe she didn't tell me! Just wait till the next time I see her, I'm gonna get her."

"That's because I told her to keep it a secret! She said that you needed a new pair of skates, so I thought maybe that would be a good gift for you."

"She was right. And these are lovely," said Marinette,

"Actually, the thing is that I wanted to get something nice for you, especially since your cookies really helped me get out of trouble with the Gorilla when I came home late the other day. He loved the macarons I made—especially the red and black decorations," he said with a wink.

Marinette giggled. "Oh, did he actually smile then?"

"Of course not. That would be a real Christmas miracle," said Adrien, laughing.

Marinette smiled. "Actually, I have a present for you too. I've been meaning to give it to you for a while now." She pulled out the small, neatly wrapped package from her bag and gave it to him. "I really hope you like it—I made it myself."

She had wrapped it in the same lavender wrapping paper and dark blue ribbon that she had wrapped the scarf in, though she wasn't sure if he would remember.

Adrien didn't say anything, but he did stare curiously at the wrapping paper for a few seconds before opening it, as though he was trying to place where he had seen it before. He opened it carefully and pulled out the pale blue hat.

"Wow, Marinette—this looks great. It matches exactly with my scarf," he said with delight. "They look like a perfect set! Thank you."

He put the hat on his head with a big grin on his face. He hadn't received such a thoughtful gift in a very long time. He was glad that he was finally getting to know Marinette.

Marinette smiled. She wanted to tell Adrien that was because she had made the scarf as well, but ultimately, it didn't really matter, as long as he was happy.

Gifts in tow, they walked to the Village du Noël, which was buzzing with visitors strolling through the wooden chalets stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place du Concorde and hundreds of Christmas trees. By the time they arrived at the ice rink, they were dazzled by the lights and slightly annoyed by the hundreds of tourists walking about.

After an hour or so on the ice, (including several performances where both of them were showing off to the audiences, who believed they were doing a show and left them tips) they decided it was time to get some _chocolat chaud_ from a street vendor before heading back home.

As they left the ice, Marinette noticed an older man holding a hockey stick trying to convince his grandsons to come on the ice with him, but they seemed more interested in the games on their phones than they were in playing with him.

She wanted to say something to him when he walked off slowly, looking despondent, but Adrien called to her from the street cart and she got distracted—which was unfortunate for her, as within five minutes, "Père Noël" begins rampaging across the Village de Noël, forcing "naughty children" (which basically meant everyone) to skate endlessly around the rink in formation while their phones hovered above them in a bright green and red plasma until he decided they were on the nice list (which would be never).

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other momentarily, each making a lame excuse before running off to hide away in separate corners of the market.

Before transforming, Adrien was torn by two emotions—excitement at the knowledge that his wish of seeing Ladybug at least once before the holidays ended was about to come true, and concern that Marinette would be safe.

But he knew that Ladybug cared deeply about keeping everyone in Paris safe and sound, so there was no reason to be too concerned about Marinette's safety.

And of course, within less than a minute, there she was, as magical and as capable as ever, wearing that bright confident smile he was falling for deeper and deeper every single day.

" _Joyeux Noël_ , my lady," said Chat Noir with his trademark grin as she arrived on the scene, swinging yo-yo in hand. "Looks like we've got a _clawful_ situation on hand. Père Noël, the villain? Come on _meow._ What a cliché villain for Christmas Eve."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Not now, _petit minou_. We can't let these children get their holiday spoiled even more than it already is. We need to nip this in the bud and get everything back to normal."

She turned to the villain, frowning. "Hey, Père Noël, didn't you know that children aren't supposed to see you when they're awake?" she said.

Père Noël grunted and pointed his arm towards her and Chat Noir, releasing a large beam of light that transformed into a large donkey and started stampeding towards them.

"That's not _pawlite_!" shouted Chat Noir as he dived out of the way.

"For someone who's supposed to be the father of Christmas, you definitely don't have any Christmas spirit!" yelled Ladybug. " _Lucky Charm_!"

A banana peel appeared and Ladybug stared at it, bemused. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You're brilliant, my lady," said Chat Noir as he leaped around the street, pursued by the phantom donkey. "So I'm sure you'll figure it out. But could you please do it soon? I can't keep running from this thing!"

Ladybug looked around the square where they were standing and noticed two important things: a half iced over puddle, and the place where Père Noël's akuma was hiding: the hockey stick he was holding like a royal staff in his left hand.

"Chat Noir!" she called. "Get the donkey to chase you right into Père Noël's path so that he runs toward me! I have to get ahold of that hockey stick, that's where the akuma is."

"Anything for my _purrincess_ ," he said with a wink. "Come this way, you big lug!" he said, taunting the donkey and confusing it into running after Père Noël and forcing him to run towards Ladybug. She tossed the banana peel onto the ground in front of him and he slipped across the puddle, losing control of his hockey stick.

She picked it up and snapped it in half, releasing the dark akuma.

"Despicable insect. You tried to wreak havoc—but now it's time to heal the evil!"

She waved her yoyo around and caught the dark butterfly, purifying it before release. "Gotcha! Bye bye, _petit papillon_."

She looked around the wreckage of the Christmas village and sighed. "Time to return everything to the way it should be the night before Christmas. _Miraculous Ladybug!_ "

Père Noël returned to his former self, confused and dazed, but surrounded by his grateful grandchildren, who looked adoringly at Ladybug.

"Ladybug, you're amazing! You're the best!" cried the oldest one.

"Thank you," said Ladybug. "Will you listen to some advice?"

"Of course," said the child.

"Try to spend more time with your grand-père. He loves you all so much, and he feels sad when you don't seem interested in talking to him or playing with him."

"We're sorry," said the middle one.

"We promise we'll spend all of our free time with him!" said the youngest, rather overenthusiastic about taking Ladybug's advice.

"Good boys," said Ladybug, smiling brightly and waving goodbye to them as they left the square.

She turned to leave the scene, when Chat Noir stopped her.

"Ladybug, wait—"

"What is it, Chat?"

"I know this sounds kind of weird—but can you please meet me at midnight tonight?"

"Where?"

"At the top of the Tour Montparnasse."

"Our regular patrol spot? Of course I can meet you there—but why, kitty? It's Christmas Eve. Don't you want to spend it with your family?"

Chat Noir ran his fingers through his hair, feeling nervous. "I know you don't like to talk about civilian life, so I won't go into the details—but the truth is, I don't really have anyone special to spend Christmas with. So I was hoping I could spend at least some of it with you, since we're such good friends. At least, I consider you a good friend—"

Ladybug looked at her partner, her eyes widening at the realization that for once, Chat Noir was being completely and 100% serious, and in doing so, was sharing a vulnerability that she never realized he had.

She reached over to him and squeezed his hand. "Oh, kitty—of course I'll come. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Really?"

Ladybug smiled. "You might be the most annoying cat on the planet, but I couldn't save Paris without you," she said as her earrings started to beep.

"And now I've really got to go, or else you're going to find out who I really am! And I don't think I want that quite yet," she added with a quick wink before she leaped away.

"But I do," whispered Chat Noir with a sigh as he watched her jump across buildings and into the darkness. "Someday, I hope you will too."


	6. The Kiss

Adrien and Marinette sprinted to return to where they had split up in the Christmas village and were both breathless and red cheeked by the time they returned.

"Are you okay?" they said in unison.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Marinette. "I was hiding in one of the restaurants."

"Me too," said Adrien, adding, "Did you see Chat Noir? I thought he looked pretty cool out there, don't you think?" (he couldn't help himself)

Marinette giggled. "If you call being chased by a donkey made out of light heroic!"

"Fair point," said Adrien, smiling sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair. He had forgotten how generally unimpressed Marinette had been by Chat Noir when she helped him defeat the Dessinateur. There was no reason to expect her reaction would be all that different this time round.

"But Ladybug really was amazing out there, wasn't she? The way she uses Lucky Charm to stop the akumas in their tracks and make everything go back to normal—it's incredible. She's just so smart and talented!"

"You sound like Alya!" said Marinette, laughing. "But yeah, I guess it is pretty neat."

She felt a little weird bragging about herself with Adrien, though she was used to it, thanks to her best friend's obsession with all things Ladybug. Still, this felt a bit different than the way Alya talked about her. Alya was obsessed by all the amazing things Ladybug did and all of the villains she defeated and how she was a symbol of Paris. To her, Ladybug was the greatest news story she would ever come across, and a never-ending source of entertainment.

But Adrien's tone of voice was a bit different, and Marinette was curious if her hunch was right. So she decided to probe a little bit.

"I thought your love of cat puns meant you were a Chat Noir fanboy…but you seem pretty fond of Ladybug too. Maybe a little bit too fond. Any reason why?"

Adrien immediately turned bright red. "Is it that obvious?"

Marinette's mind raced back to Valentine's Day, months before, and the crumpled poem he had written and thrown in the trash. Hair as dark as the night…eyes as blue as the summer sky…wishing he could know _what was behind her mask_ —he was talking about Ladybug. It was so obvious now that it was hard for her to believe that she hadn't realized it before. Adrien was in love with Ladybug.

She couldn't believe it. She had a crush on Adrien, and Adrien had a crush on her superhero alter ego. It was the strangest thing.

But Marinette couldn't say anything without revealing everything, so she had to play it cool.

She raised one eyebrow. "Well if it wasn't before, it is now."

Adrien groaned. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Marinette shook her head. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks, Marinette. You're a good friend," said Adrien with a grateful smile.

"I know," said Marinette, sticking out her tongue. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was almost 9pm. "We should probably get home, shouldn't we? It's getting late."

Adrien nodded. "Thanks for coming with me today, it was really nice to come back here after such a long time. I'd forgotten how nice this place is at Christmastime."

"Of course! And anyway, I love the Village de Noël. I'm always happy to come here," she replied.

At the entrance, the two of them waited for Adrien's limo to arrive in silence, taking in the holiday cheer and warmth flowing around them until the Gorilla finally arrived and opened the door for him.

"Looks like your ride is here! _Joyeux Noël,_ Adrien," said Marinette. "I had a lot of fun today. I'm glad we hung out!"

" _Joyeux Noël,_ Marinette," said Adrien, pulling her into a hug before he got into the car. "This has been the best Christmas Eve I've had in a long time. We should hang out again some time. Especially at the bakery—I want more of your dad's cookies!"

Marinette laughed and waved him on. She melted a little bit inside as she watched the limo drive away down the street until Tikki floated out of her bag and sat on her shoulder.

"What are you thinking about, Marinette?"

Marinette looked at her, eyes twinkling. "I'm thinking that a certain superhero needs to make one more appearance tonight at the Agreste Mansion in order to really make someone's day."

Adrien leaned back against the backseat of the limo and closed his eyes. So far, the Christmas holiday had gone by so much better than he could ever have hoped for. He'd gone ice skating (twice!), had a new friend in Marinette, and he had gotten to fight an akuma with Ladybug. So far, all of his holiday wishes were coming true. A week ago, he would never have imagined having such a nice holiday. It went to show that there was no real way of ever knowing what was going to happen.

By the time they returned to the mansion, Adrien practically skipped up the stairs to his room and whirled around with his hands in the air before sitting down at his desk and pulling out a notebook and pen to jot down ideas for what to say to Ladybug when he met her at midnight.

He had already bought her a Christmas present from the Village de Noël—a little keychain with a tiny plush ladybug hanging from the side—but he wanted to add something to it. A poem, maybe. He wasn't sure. Would she think it would be too cheesy? He knew she hated when he used too many puns, but they were so good, he had to use at least one or two. Or maybe three. If he used enough of them, he was sure they would eventually grow on her.

Adrien stared intently down at the paper when he heard someone rapping on his bedroom window. He looked up, confused, when he saw a familiar pair of bright blue eyes behind a familiar spotted mask. Ladybug.

Ladybug was at his house. Ladybug was here to see _him_ , Adrien Agreste. How did she know where he lived? Did she know his secret?

He ran to the window and pushed it open.

"L-ladybug? What—what are you doing here?" he stammered, quickly turning speechless.

She smiled flirtatiously at him and jumped inside the room. "Your friend Marinette told me that you're my biggest fan, so I wanted to give you a little Christmas surprise."

As she walked towards him, he could feel his legs turning into jello. She came closer and closer and closer until she was inches away from him, looking intently into his eyes. He could feel himself falling into her deep blue gaze when she suddenly grasped the side of his face with her hands and kissed him straight on the lips.

The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it felt like a wonderful eternity, and Adrien couldn't even process what was happening when she pulled away with a quick " _Joyeux Noel!_ " and leaped back out the window.

Adrien sat back down on his chair,completely shellshocked. He sat there in silence for nearly five minutes until he heard the sounds of gagging coming from the general direction where Plagg was relaxing in his bag.

He turned to look at his kwami and shook his head. "Say what you will about cheese being better than true love, Plagg, but there's no way that camembert could possibly taste better than a kiss like that."

Plagg refused to dignify this comment with an answer beyond a dismissive sniff, choosing instead to pretend to snore loudly. Adrien rolled his eyes and picked up the notebook and pen again. Now that he had finally kissed Ladybug (with all of his senses intact), he was filled with inspiration for things he could say to her.

If Adrien had chosen to look out the window in that five minutes, he would have spotted a certain Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng running away from the Agreste Mansion, her face bright red for reasons unknown and followed by a floating red blob. But he didn't, and so he lost the chance to make the connection.

At midnight, Chat Noir and Ladybug met on top of the Tour Montparnasse and smiled down at the lights of Paris, which were shining brightly below them. They often met at the top of the building as it was the second tallest skyscraper in Paris, but also because it had such an amazing view of the city.

They both felt that the view was particularly beautiful that night, perhaps because it was finally Christmas—and perhaps because both of them had just shared a spectacular kiss.

Or perhaps it was because it had been a strange, exciting, and wonderful year for both of them, and standing on the top of the Tour Montparnasse at midnight was a great way to cap it off.

Ladybug turned to her partner and smiled, grasping his hand. "Joyeux Noël, Chat Noir."

 _And_ _Joyeux Noël to you too, Adrien,_ she thought. _I hope you enjoyed your Christmas wish._

"Joyeux Noël, _Buginette_ ," he replied, placing his other hand over hers and squeezing it tightly.

 _And Joyeux Noël to you too, Marinette,_ he thought. _Thanks to you, my wish came true in more ways than I could have ever imagined._

"I'm glad you're here. I have a present for you!" he said, handing her the small charm.

"Oh, thank you, kitty!" said Ladybug. "You didn't have to do this."

"This is just a small token for my lady," said Chat Noir with a bow. He wanted to tell Ladybug that she had kissed him, and that he had liked it, and that he wanted her to do it again, if she wanted to kiss him again as well. But there was enough time to figure out all of those complications later. For now, if she liked his gift, it was enough.

Ladybug laughed merrily. " _Merci_ , _petit minou._ I love it!"

He turned and looked at her with his bright feline grin as they sat down beside each other on the edge of the building. "Guess what? Thanks to a friend, I was able to spend a bit of time with someone really important to me tonight. It's been a great night."

"That's wonderful, kitty! I actually did something tonight for a friend myself just a little while earlier," said Ladybug. "I guess doing nice things is all part of the holiday season."

"Wouldn't it be funny if our friends knew each other?" said Chat Noir.

"It would. But I doubt that they do, _minou_. We live in a city of more than 2 million people. What are the odds?"

"I don't know, but fate works in funny ways. If there's anything I've learned over the past week, it's that we should always expect the unexpected."

"What do you think next year will bring?" she said as she turned to look at the lights of the Eiffel Tower, sparkling and gleaming brightly in the distance.

"Only time will tell," said Chat Noir. "But one thing's for sure," he added, looking serious.

"What's that?"

"It's going to be a _mew_ beginning."

"Noooo!"

"Come on, _Buginette_. You know you like it."

" _Mon petit minou_ , I'm going to throw you off this roof."

"Unnecessary. I've already fallen _fur_ you. No need to toss me any further."

"Oh Chat, what am I going to do with you and your terrible puns?"

"You're stuck with me, my lady—either until this adventure ends, or until we learn each other's true identities."

Ladybug smiled. "Well then, I guess I can wait that long. The mystery is part of the fun."

"Now that's the right _catitude_!"

It was a cold and windy Christmas night in Paris, but if anyone had happened to have their window open at that very moment, they might have heard a faint scream of "Aaargh!" echoing through the air. Most of those who did thought it was the sound of a disgruntled bird, but those few who knew better recognized the sounds of the Cat and the Ladybug who protected their city both day and night. And so they smiled, closed their windows, and went back to sleep.

THE END


	7. It's the Most Punderful Time of the Year

**Author's Note** : A few people sent me messages asking about the pun battle between Adrien and Sabine, so even though Joyeux Noël was only supposed to be 6 chapters long, I'm posting an extra bonus chapter just for you folks that focuses entirely on the battle of puns!

(by the way, this is legit the cringiest thing I've ever written in my life, I'm only doing it because I love you guys)

"Well, I think it's time for that pun competition!" said Sabine, crossing her arms across her chest.

"May the best pun win," said Adrien gallantly, eyes twinkling. After an hour in the kitchen, he had compiled a list of cooking related puns that he was sure would surpass anything she could possibly come up with.

"I suggest that you _doughnut_ take this competition lightly," responded Sabine.

Adrien pretended to frown and turned to face her, arms akimbo. "Oh, so you wanna _peas_ of me? _Gouda_ luck!"

Sabine grinned and pointed to a table filled with bread dough. "I don't need luck. All I _knead_ is love."

"Now you're just sounding like a _weirdough_ ," responded Adrien, waving his arm dismissively.

"But I guess I can see that," he added as he grabbed a basket of fruit. "You and Monsieur Dupain make a great _pear_."

"Oh, so you think that we're _pearfect_? That's sweet of you," said Sabine with a smirk.

Adrien pointed to a plate of baguettes. "When you got married, did you _eloaf_?"

"No, when my parents found out we were dating, they just _rolled_ with it," said Sabine, pushing a basket filled with dinner rolls across the table.

"That's great. So they didn't tell you that he _butter_ back off?"

"Of course not. He's my _butter_ half."

"I have to admit, that was a _berry_ nice response. I just might be another one that bites the _crust._ "

Sabine grinned. "Sounds like you could use some _encouragemint_."

"Whip it good, Maman!" called Marinette, waving a whisk around and cheering. She shook her head, laughing. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Chop it like it's hot, Adrien!" said Tom, waving a knife and a spatula in the air. "Don't flip out!"

"I'm fine! I know it's cheesy, but I feel _grate,_ " said Adrien.

"Really? That's _eggsactly_ how I feel!" rebutted Sabine.

Adrien shook his head seriously. "You must be _yolking._ This is no game of _cones_."

Sabine looked at him with puppy dog eyes. "Now Adrien, don't go _bacon_ my heart."

"Aw, you're making much ado about _muffin_. I couldn't if I _fried,_ " said Adrien, as Marinette pretended to gag in the background.

Sabine laughed. "I'm glad we're getting _oolong_ so well. This may sound bananas, but I find you very _appeeling_. I can see why my daughter likes you so much. Where have you _bean_ all my life?"

"Are you saying it's _brie_ you're looking for?"

Sabine looked upward with a dreamy expression. "It's like a famous songwriter once said. Sweet dreams are made of _cheese_ , who am I to dis a _brie_?"

"How does Monsieur Dupain feel about it? _To brie, or not to brie?"_

"I don't know, but I think it's _thyme_ to _turnip_ the _beet!_ What's your favorite kind of music, Adrien? _"_

"I would tell you, but I don't think it's your kind of _jam_ , unless you like _raisin_ the roof! _"_ said Adrien, waving his arms in the air with a silly grin while Marinette stifled a giggle.

She couldn't believe how unbelievably goofy he was. To think that she had ever been afraid to talk to him because she thought he was so calm and collected!

"Oh Tom, it's so fascinating to see this portrait of an artist as a young _flan._ Truly a pun master in the making," said Sabine, sounding exactly like a sports newscaster as Monsieur Dupain and Marinette collapsed into laughter.

"I don't think we can declare a winner," said Tom, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"It's definitely a draw," said Marinette. "That was a lot of fun! Maman, I think you've met your match."

Sabine looked at her daughter, eyes twinkling. "Perhaps, but what if it's _you_ who's met your match?"

Both Adrien and Marinette's eyes grew wide and they blushed bright pink as her parents laughed merrily.

Marinette might have declared a draw, but in this case, it was clear who had the upper hand, and she was just thankful that her mother hadn't mentioned the many pictures of Adrien she had plastered all over her room. And in case he ever did come to visit again…she was going to have to do some clean up.

After Adrien finally left for home and Marinette had gone up to her room, Tom and Sabine looked at each other and smiled. They liked the young man who had come to visit and help, and they hoped they would see more of him—and his puns.


End file.
